Summer games are over

I'm tired and almost home.

SOWA opening ceremony

Well we have now marched in and taken our seats at the opening
ceremonies for the Washington State Special Olympics Summer Games.
Other teams are still streaming in.

Off to the Summer Games

It is that time of the year. This weekend is the Washington State
Special Olympics Summer Games. I am a chaperone, with both Alan and
Ben participating (Ben is part of the "unified" relay team). We are on
the bus heading to Fort Lewis.

At the base of the falls

So here we are at the base of the falls. You can see the Salish Lodge
on the top to the left. Cindy didn't want to do the climbing necessary
to get down here on the rocks, so only us boys made it. It is actually
quite damp down here, the spray from the waterfall is pretty heavy
even this far away.

Snoqualmie falls

We decided to come up here for Memorial Day. Along with about a
hundred thousand other people!

Ben is in there

I know you can't see him, but he is in the back row. About to sing the
national anthem.

At a Rainiers game

Ben's elementary school is singing the national anthem at the
Rainier's game tonight. We have never been at one here before, but we
are having a good time so far. Of course, the game hasn't started yet.

At Highland games

We are at the Special Olympics Highland Games in Bellevue, WA. Alan
and Ben are competing in a number of events. The picture is of Ben and
his friend Sam playing YuGoOh between events.

At home

Glad to be home again. Back to regular life. And I'm loving it.

This one is my plane

My plane's here and waiting for us. Boarding should start in about 15
minutes, and I'm headed home. Yeah!

Lunch of champions

Okay - not really my whole lunch. The pulled pork BBQ sandwich is on
the way.

I'm at the airport and having some lunch before the flight. Gawd am I
happy to be headed home!

Not my airplane

Not my airplane (I'm on Hawaiin air) but a nice view of a 747. My son,
alan, loves big airplanes! So here's one for you, Alan.

Creme puffs

One of the more interesting discoveries here in Hawaii has been Beard
Papa's. They make creme puffs. And that's pretty much all they do.
They are good creme puffs, of course. And I have eaten more then my
fair share. Yummy!

Ate here too

LOL - I ate here a few times as well. Not unusual or overly
interesting, but familiar and comfortable. The food wasn't "bad", just
uninspired.

Ate here a couple times

Actually really enjoyed eating at this Mexican place. It was a great
change of pace.

Ready to to home

I'm going home today. Finally. Just few more hours and it's off to the
airport. It was fun to be here, but it was too long. I am very glad to
be headed home.

Oh, the picture is the entrance to the Hilton hotel I've been staying
in.

The dinner view

And here is the view sitting here in LuLu's without you having to look
at my dinner.

Dinner time

Sitting at LuLu's overlooking Waikiki beach eating a sizzling steak.
Sucks to be me, huh?

As far as we got

So, here is the view from the place we ended up stopping and turning
around.

The hike up Koko Head

Today my coworker and I, both being trapped here on Oahu, decided to
take a hike. Our first choice was closed, so we went over to Koko Head
to try that. This picture is from very near the base looking up the
hill/mountain/volcano. It is some kind of old tram track but is now a
"starcase" up the side of the mountain. It is as steep as it appears
in this photo, and is indeed straight up.

The day was quite warm and muggy, and I am way too out of shape. I
estimate we made it three quarters up before turning back. I was so
tired going up I was getting ill and thought I was going to throw up.

Saturday morning on Waikiki

This is the attack of the birds edition.

I started my day in the pretty normal way with a walk down to
Starbucks for a coffee and scone. The line was actually pretty short.
Then I headed out here to the beach to sit on a bench and watch the
waves. So I'm sitting here eating my scone when these birds (acting
like rats with wings) start coming up to me. Most fly away when I shoo
them, but this one sticks around.

Now, I don't feed them. I knows better (even if my lovely wife hasn't
learned her lesson yet). But this bird in the picture just keeps on
patroling around me. It can we I'm eating and seems to think I owe it
something. I tried repeatedly to shoo it away, but it keeps circling
back.

Finally I decide to try to just ignore it. Then it gets bold and hops
up on the bench to me left. It is sitting six inches from me and just
staring at me! Apparently my NOT shooing it away at this point is some
kind of invitation, so it hops onto my leg! I'm not kidding. It
decided to climb on me to get my scone, which I just want to eat in
peace.

Well feeling it's talons on my bare flesh was too much of a surprise
so I jerk my leg and swat at the greedy bird. It returned to the
ground, but was unrepentant, continuing to circle my feet and bench.
Right up to the point I finished my scone. Then it wandered away.

I guess I'm just lucky there weren't more of them!

Dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise

Dinner time. Wasn't really in the mood to be out here, but what was I
going to do? Room service is really crazy expensive. And I needed a
drink (or two or three), today sucked.